Rail-joint.



PATENTED SEPT. 27, 1904.

H. H. WRENCH.

RAIL JOINT.

APPLIOA'IION FILED MAY 3, 1904.

- 2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

NO MODEL.

w WM No. 770,996. PATENTED SEPT. 27, 1904, H. H. WRENCH. RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 3, 1904.

N0 MODEL, 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES Patented September 2'7, 1904:.

HARRY H. WRENCH, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

RAIL-JOINT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letter; Patent No. 770,996, dated September 27, 1904. Application filed May 3,1904. Serial No. 206,228. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HARRY H. W RENCH, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented new and useful Improvements in Rail-Joints, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to rail-joints; and the object of the invention is to provide a simple, cheap, strong, and reliable rail-joint by means of which the adjacent ends of the rails may be effectively coupled together and thoroughly braced without the use of the ordinary bolts and nuts, the parts of the rail-joint being so constructed and arranged relatively to each other that the greater the weight brought to bear on the rail ends the more tightly will the rail-joint as a whole grip the rail ends and prevent separation and spreading or breaking down of the same.

With the above and other objects in view, the nature of which will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, as herein fully described, illustrated, and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is is a perspective View of a complete rail-joint embodying the present invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section through the same. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the chair and its integral parts. Fig. 4is a similar view of the separable brace. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a modified form of chair including the integral brace. Fig. 6 is a cross section through a rail-joint, showing a slight modification in the construction and arrangement of the parts thereof. Fig. 7 is adetail perspective view of the form of chair or base-plate shown in Fig. 6.

Like reference-numerals designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

The rail-joint contemplated in this invention comprises, essentially, a chair embodying a base-plate 1, the opposite edges of which are provided with spike-notches 2 in order to enable the chair to be firmly secured by spikes to adjacent-ties, over and across which the chair extends and upon which it is supported. At one side the chair is provided with an integral brace, as best shown in Fig. 3, which brace comprises an inclined body portion 3, adapted to bear against the upper surface of the base-flange of the rail ends, as shown in Fig. 2, and an upright portion 4, which lies and bears against the adjacent side of the rail-web, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. In further carrying out the present invention the rail-heads are provided in their under sides with grooves 5, which are adapted to receive the upper edges of the rail-braces in the manner indicated in Fig. 2. At the opposite side the chair is provided with an inturnedkeeperflange 6, which is also formed integrally with the chair, as shown in Fig. 3. In connection with the keeper-flange 6 I employ a separable brace consisting of an inclined portion 7, corresponding with the portion 3 of the integral brace, and an upright portion 8, which corresponds with the upright portion 4 of the integral brace. The separable brace is interposed between the keeper-flange and the head of the rail, the lower edge of the separable brace engaging beneath the keeper-flange 6 and the upper edge of the separable brace entering the grooves 5, as shown in Fig. 2.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the separable brace is firmly and securely held between the keeper-flange 6 and the head of the rail and that when weight is brought to bear on the rail ends the integral and separable b'races act to firmly clamp and brace the rail ends and prevent spreading or separation or bending down thereof.

Instead of providing a separable brace, as shown in Fig. 4, both of the braces may be formed integrally with the base-plate, as shown in Fig. 5, in which an additional integral brace 9 is employed located opposite the integral brace 3 4, above referred to. Both of the braces may be formed separately from the chair or base-plate, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, in which 10 designates the bas'eplate,provided at opposite sides with inturnedkeeper-flanges 11, which receive and retain the lower and outer edges of a pair of separable braces 12, the upper edges ofwhich are received in the grooves 5 of the rail-head. The construction illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, is, however, preferred as being simplest in operation and the easiest to apply to the rail ends.

In placing the rail-joint upon the rail ends the chair may be moved lengthwise of the rails until both rails have been placed in position and the chair, together with the separable brace, moved to the proper point to lap about equally over the rail ends, as shown in Fig. 1, after which the chair may be spiked to the ties.

By means of the construction shown and described expansion and contraction in the rails are provided for.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is The combination with rail ends, the heads of which are grooved on the under side, of a rail-joint comprising a chair embodying a base-plate having spike-notches at opposite sides, an integral rail-brace at one side of the base-plate, an inturned keeper-flange at the opposite side of the base-plate, and a keeperflange, the upper edges of the rail-braces engaging the greoves in the heads of the rail ends, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HARRY H. VVRENOH. Witnesses:

JOSEPH BRANDSTETTER, CHRISTOPHER BROKATE. 

